Fire and Safety Professional, Debbie Windele, has declared that Nigeria is far behind on safety matters as the country has no structure in place to ensure the safety of its citizens.
She made this assertion while appearing on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television.
Although she expressed hope that the country “will get there” she added that this can only be possible if the country listens to the right counsel by professionals and educate the masses on health and safety.
The ongoing fuel scarcity in the country came to the fore as she berated the safety risks associated with the situation whereby people buy and store petrol in their homes, preaching that there should be a legislation to debar people from buy more fuel than they could need domestically.
She said that based on her feasibility study, the Nigerian Fire Service was very far behind the rest of the world. She also revealed that many buildings she had visited do not match up with the international standards in their fire safety measures.
She referred to the fire extinguishers installed on the walls in many buildings in Nigeria as being either outdated or not of the right category. She explained that fire extinguishers are painted in different colours based on the purposes for which they were manufactured, but many Nigerians; including corporate organisations do not know this.
Windele complained that Nigerians were more interested in preventing the theft of their property than its destruction, a situation which explains the types of burglary proof installed in homes which usually leaves no escape route for occupants of a building during emergency.
Speaking further about the risks involved in the storage of petrol, Windele passionately discouraged the freedom given to people to buy any quantity of petrol to be stored in their homes and cars.
She also spoke about the Community Fire Safety, which focuses on the need to take the message of fire safety to the grassroots, insisting that education of the people remained the best way to start the journey towards creating a safer society.
She advised that Nigerians should embrace safer habits towards their domestic activities, like cooking and management of electronic appliances.